We know what you’re thinking: Grandma Snake? What the heck kind of myth is that?

It’ll make more sense as you read…

Baba Yaga | Russia

Mysterious old woman who floats around in a mortar.

• The description may say a singular old woman, but this myth opens the possibility of running into not just one but three baba yagas (can it be plural?) Crazy part? They’re all equally as deformed and terrifying to look at it.
• Not only does she float around in a mortar…she’s armed. With a pestle. The thing you use to grind stuff up in the mortar. Sounds like if you get her mad, you know what will happen to you.
• She can be found in the forest, in a hut. Most people who come across her seek her out for a maternal role or something in relation to forest life. (Read some of the stories – they’re crazy!)
• Baba Yaga may be seen as a villain, but she’s portrayed as a helper or ambiguous being in a story.
• The meaning of her name varies (take a peek at the title again); baba has a variety of meanings, ranging from grandmother to sorceress. Yaga doesn’t have a clear translation but most believe it revolves around serpents.